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Thomas Wayne (New Earth)
Real Name: Thomas Wayne Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: The Bat Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases __TOC__ Status Occupation: President and CEO of Wayne Enterprises Legal Status: Thomas Wayne was a citizen of the United States with no criminal record. Identity: Public Marital Status: Married Group Affiliation: No known group affiliation Base of Operations: Gotham City Origin Place of Birth: Gotham City, New Jersey Place of Death: Crime Alley, Gotham City Known Relatives: Martha Wayne (wife, deceased); Bruce Wayne (son); Ibn al Xu'ffasch (possible grandson; See notes); Patrick Wayne (father, deceased); Charles Wayne (grandfather, deceased); Alan Wayne (great-grandfather, deceased); Solomon Wayne (great great-grandfather, deceased); Darius Wayne (ancestor, deceased); Joshua Wayne (ancestor, deceased) First Appearance: (Historically) Detective Comics #33; (Canonically) Batman #404 (in flashback) Final Appearance: Thomas Wayne has never made a canonical in-story appearance; as such he continues to make appearances through flashback. History Thomas Wayne was one of the most respected patrons in all of Gotham City. He inherited his family's ancestral home Wayne Manor and took charge of the family business Wayne Enterprises. A skilled surgeon and philanthropist, Thomas Wayne also established the charitable Wayne foundation. Many years ago, Thomas and his wife Martha gave birth to their only son, Bruce. When Bruce was a young child, his family attended a costume fundraiser. The theme of the party was "Creatures of the night". Thomas Wayne decided to masquerade as a bat, and wore a costume consisting of a pointed mask, and large, dark blue scalloped wings. The impressionable Bruce admired his father's outfit and openly asked if one day he might be able to wear such a fearsome costume. Thomas had no idea how prophetic the innocent question truly was. Untold Legend of the Batman #1 During the party, several gangsters raided the mansion and recognized that Wayne was a physician. Kidnapping him, they brought him to an old warehouse where he was to perform emergency surgery on mob boss named Lew Moxon who had been suffering from a serious gunshot wound. Wayne knew that once he removed the bullet from Moxon's body, the gangster would likely kill him. Instead of performing the surgery, Thomas dove into the gangsters and managed to apprehend every one of them. He called the police and handed the thugs over to a young police lieutenant named James Gordon. The courts sentenced Moxon to ten years in prison. Moxon only served a few years in jail and upon release, he decided to pay a visit to Thomas Wayne. With a menacing sneer, he glibly told Wayne that he would find a way to get even with him – even if he had to use somebody else to do his dirty work. A few weeks later, Thomas, Martha and young Bruce were walking home from a night out at the movies. A mugger leapt from the shadows of Park Row and assaulted them, demanding money. Thomas tried to fight back, but the mugger shot him directly in the chest, killing him. He then turned his gun on Martha and viciously ended her life as well. Bruce Wayne stared on in horror, as his parents layed dead beside him. Chill turned on his heel and ran from the alleyway. Bruce made a graveside promise that he would bring the lowly killer to justice and avenge their deaths. A few years ago, the international eco-terrorist Ra's al Ghul disinterred the Waynes' remains and threatened to immerse them in one of his Lazarus Pits – a side effect of which would be resurrection as a decomposed zombie. Batman infiltrated Ra's stronghold however, and reclaimed his parents' bodies before Ra's could fulfill his scheme. JLA: Tower of Babel Not long after, Bruce Wayne discovered evidence that Thomas may have been unfaithful to Martha and sired an illegitimate child with a woman from Santa Prisca - a child who eventually grew up to become the crime-lord known as Bane. However, it has since been clarified that Bane bears no familial relation to Bruce Wayne. Batman Family (Volume 2) #1 Bruce Wayne never discovered the true identity of Thomas Wayne's murderer, although recent evidence suggests that the super-villain known as Metallo may have been involved with the crime, if not directly responsible for the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne Superman/Batman #1 Characteristics Height: Height unknown Weight: Weight unknown Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Unusual Features: No unusual features Powers Known Powers: No known powers. Known Abilities: Thomas Wayne was an expert surgeon and businessman. He was also recognized as a great philanthropist. Strength Level: Thomas Wayne possessed the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in moderate regular exercise. Miscellaneous Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Notes * The character of Thomas Wayne was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane. Later permutations of the character were developed courtesy of Denny O'Neil, John Byrne, Frank Miller and John Francis Moore. * In a graphic novel entitled Batman: Son of the Demon (1987), Batman sires an illegitimate child with Talia al Ghul named Ibn al Xu'ffasch. According to editor Denny O'Neil, the graphic novel is considered non-canon, and does not fit into the continuity of the mainstream DC Universe. Recently however, writer Grant Morrison began scripting a storyline bringing the character of Ibn al Xu'ffasch back into continuity. The canonical Ibn's relationship to Bruce Wayne, if any, has yet to be clarified. Batman #655 Joe Chill * In the original Golden Age origin of Batman, his parents were murdered by a mugger named Joe Chill. The Silver Age expanded on the Joe Chill story, and it was later revealed that he was an assassin working for a gangster named Lew Moxon. Detective Comics #235 Batman eventually tracked Chill down to a warehouse and revealed his secret identity to him. Terrified, Chill ran into another section of the building, where he pleaded with his henchmen to protect him. He confessed to murdering Batman's parents thus inspiring him to become a crime-fighter. Upon learning that their boss was responsible for creating the man who had sent them to prison so many times, Joe's henchmen gunned him down in cold blood. This story was later repudiated in Post-Crisis continuity, when it was revealed that Joe Chill was still very much alive. Batman: Year Two Batman even found himself forced to team up with Chill in order to stop the murderous vigilante known as the Reaper. This time however, it was the Reaper that took Chill's life, not some random gunmen. This story has also since been repudiated and is now considered non-canon. Currently, Thomas Wayne's murderer has yet to be identified and is presumably still at large. Alternate Media * In Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster Batman, actor David Baxt portrayed Thomas Wayne in a flashback cameo scene. The Waynes are murdered by Jack Napier, the future Joker, rather than Joe Chill. After firing two fatal shots, Napier points the gun at Bruce and asks "Tell me kid, you ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?" Napier abandons the crime scene when his more apprehensive partner hears the police coming. Martha's pearls falling into the gutter are prominently featured in slow motion. Batman learns the killer's identity when the Joker says the same thing to Bruce Wayne when he is about to shoot him in Vicki Vale's apartment. * In the 1992 television program Batman: The Animated Series Bruce Wayne's parents are, as in other versions, murdered in Crime Alley. In this version, however, instead of being killed by the Joker or Joe Chill, the Waynes are killed by an unidentified attacker. This anonymous killer is never actually shown in the series. Similarly, the murder is never mentioned, only alluded to and is instead illustrated through the use of metaphor. In one example, Bruce has a nightmare wherein he sees his parents walking towards a tunnel; he then runs towards them telling them to "Stop!". Even so, they enter the tunnel, which is revealed to be the barrel of a giant gun. Batman screams as the world is bleached white and a lound shot is heard. * In an episode of the animated series Justice League Unlimited entitled "For the Man Who Has Everything" Batman is temporarily trapped by a hallucenogenioc plant called Black Mercy which creates the perfect dream world in which to hold the victim. In the dream world, Batman relives his parent's death but there, his father puts up a good defense against the killer and almost wins. Unfortunately when the Black Mercy Plant is removed, the dream ends with Thomas (and Martha) Wayne being killed all over again. * Thomas Wayne returned to the big screen in 2005 for Batman Begins. Played by Linus Roache, Thomas was a surgeon at the Gotham City hospital, and of the fifth generation of the Wayne family to live in Wayne Manor. He was the chairman of Wayne Enterprises until his death. As one of the most prominent citizens in Gotham, he was trying to change the city into a better place, up until the end of his life. One of Thomas' more notable scenes involves Bruce falling into a cavern that leads into what will one day become the Batcave. An exchange takes place between the two wherein Thomas rhetorically posits the question, "Why do we fall, Bruce?. So that we can get up again." In this version of the origin story, Martha and Thomas are murdered at gunpoint by a petty criminal named Joe Chill at 10:47 p.m., after attending a performance of "Mefistofele". They had left the opera early when Bruce was scared by the bat-like demons that appeared on the stage. It was shown that he was killed because he was trying to protect his wife, after Chill tried to rip off her necklace. It is revealed in the movie that the deaths of two such prominent citizens encouraged Gotham City's elite to bring it back from the brink of ruination (in the process temporarily foiling a plot to destroy the city by Ra's al Ghul). Dr. Wayne's last words to his son are "Bruce... don't be afraid." Trivia * In both the Golden and Silver age retellings of the story, the Waynes attend a showing of the film The Mark of Zorro. The Earth-Two Waynes view the 1921 version of the Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks, whereas the Earth-One Waynes watch the 1940 version with Tyrone Power. * Golden Age Earth-Two continuity, Thomas Wayne's butler was named Alfred Beagle - a man who's personality and physical characteristics differed greatly from the more recognized Alfred Pennyworth. Recommended Readings * Detective Comics #33 * Batman #404 * Batman Family (Volume 2) #1 Related Articles * Batman * Batman (Earth-Two) * Batman (Earth-One) * Batman: Year One * Joe Chill * Lew Moxon * Martha Wayne * Wayne Enterprises External Links * Thomas and Martha Wayne article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe References Thomas Wayne article at Wikipedia ---- Category:Characters Category:American Category:Brown Eyes Category:Brown Hair Category:Businesspeople Category:Deceased Characters Category:Doctors Category:Golden Age Category:Good Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Married Characters Category:Modern Category:Public Identity Category:Silver Age